René Pape
René Pape (born 4 September 1964 in Dresden, Germany) is an opera singer, a bass. His mother is a hairdresser and his father a chef. They were divorced, when he was two years old. He sometimes lived with his grandmother, who opened the way for his interest in music. His maternal grandfather was an operetta tenor.
Pape received his musical education with the Dresden Kreuzchor and the Dresden Conservatory. He debuted with the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in 1988, and achieved international recognition in 1995, when Sir Georg Solti cast him as Sarastro in a production of Die Zauberflöte.
The year 1995 also saw his debut with the Metropolitan Opera, where he has performed every year since. His repertoire includes virtually all the great German bass roles, as well as Ramfis in Aida, Filippo II in Don Carlo, Méphistophélès in Faust, and the title role of Boris Godunov.
Pape performs regularly in opera houses, opera festivals such as Bayreuth and Glyndebourne, concert halls, as well as with major symphony orchestras around the world.
Pape made his film debut as Sarastro in Kenneth Branagh's The Magic Flute, which premiered simultaneously at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival and the 2006 Venice Film Festival.
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